GEN. SLEIMAN LOOKS AHEAD AT PRESIDENCY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000758 SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/YERGER/GAVITO DOD/OSD FOR USDP ERIC EDELMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018 TAGS: PREL MCAP PTER PINR LE SUBJECT: GEN. SLEIMAN LOOKS AHEAD AT PRESIDENCY REF: A. BEIRUT 688 ¶B. BEIRUT 661 BEIRUT 00000758 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: CDA Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Charge met one-on-one with General Michel Sleiman, President-designate and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, to thank him for the close relationship the Embassy has enjoyed with the LAF under his command and to share with him the news of Codel Rahall's travel for Sunday's Parliamentary session and Presidential oath-taking. Sleiman promised he would serve his country as a hard-working and disciplined President. He said he would continue to take great interest in the U.S.-Lebanon military-to-military relationship. He noted that he intended to choose the Interior Minister slot as one of the Cabinet slots he would designate under the Doha Agreement. Getting the country through the Spring 2009 legislative elections, an Interior Ministry responsibility, was important, he declared. Sleiman acknowledged his future role as President in the dialogue to define the state's authorities and its relations with other parties. The clock on his six-year tenure as President would start ticking upon his swearing-in on Sunday, May 25, he added, and he did not intend to stay a minute beyond that date. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Greeting Charge warmly in his LAF office at 1930 on Friday, May 23, General Michel Sleiman commented that "Thank God, the black times are over, I hope." Relaxed after a day of receiving telephone calls from friends and well-wishers, Sleiman said he would work from his LAF offices throughout the weekend until he was called for Sunday's Presidential oath-taking. The Need to Implement the Doha Agreement -------------- ¶3. (C) Charge noted that the USG had welcomed the agreement reached by Lebanon's political leaders in Doha. When she had last seen Sleiman on May 14 with Acting CENTCOM Commander Gen. Dempsey (ref A),Sleiman had spoken of "civil war" and the tactical difficulties the LAF had faced on the ground. Just a week later, the Doha Agreement had provided a positive step towards resolving the tensions by electing a President, forming a new government, and addressing a new electoral law. It was important that Lebanon's political leadership implement the Agreement in its entirety, in accordance with the Arab League initiative and in conformity with the relevant UNSCRs, she continued. ¶4. (C) Charge also noted that the USG's public statements had focused on support for the government of Lebanon and the need for the government and the legitimate security forces of Lebanon to exercise complete authority over Lebanon's entire territory. A strong LAF was key to this, she emphasized. Sleiman agreed. The Doha Agreement stated that a dialogue would be launched on ways to reinforce the state's authority on all its territory and its relations with the various parties in such a way as to guarantee state sovereignty, continued Charge. The dialogue would take place under the chairmanship of the president once a national unity cabinet had been named and in partnership with the Arab League, Doha participants had agreed. Sleiman acknowledged that he would have a role in this dialogue but noted that he had yet to define that role. Militias should be disarmed, as UNSCR 1559 stated and as UNSCR also reflected, Charge said. After picking up his pen to make a note, Sleiman acknowledged the need for respect of the rule of law. (Comment: Although Sleiman had characterized Hizballah's activities to Charge as "militia" activities on May 11 that had "nothing to do" with "resistance," he was more circumspect in his language this evening. End Comment.) Interior Minister Key -------------- ¶5. (C) Given the USG's commitment to training and equipping the Lebanese Armed Forces, Charge continued, there was curiosity as to who would serve as the new LAF Commander and as the new Minister of Defense, as well as interest as to BEIRUT 00000758 002.2 OF 003 which of the thirty cabinet ministers Sleiman as President would name as "Presidential" choices under the 16-11-3 (majority-opposition-president) formula. Sleiman replied without hesitation that he would take the Interior Ministry as one of his three "picks," given the key role the Ministry would play in organizing the Spring 2009 parliamentary elections (the Interior Minister also oversees the Internal Security Forces, General Security, and municipalities). "Everyone" thought he intended to nominate his older brother, Antoine Sleiman, currently serving as acting governor of Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa, as Interior Minister, but this was not his intention, said Gen. Sleiman. (Note: The role of governor in Lebanon is similar to a prefect under French-influenced systems; governors are normally senior career Interior Ministry officials. End note.) While Sleiman did not offer any further details on who he had in mind for this position, he did note later in the conversation that retired BG Fares Soufia had traveled with his wife from the United States to visit Lebanon and that Charge might see him at Sunday's oath-taking ceremony (Soufia's name has been rumored as a possibility for the Interior Ministry position, as have Elias and Michel Murr's names). ¶6. (C) Sleiman confided that he remained unsure as to which other two ministries he would decide to choose under his three presidential "neutral picks." He did not want to commit any "stupidities" (betises),he said. The issues of power and electricity were important, Sleiman noted. In fact, a Gulf country (not named) had sent an offer to help him with alternative sources of energy. Power generation was a key issue facing Lebanon, he emphasized. He then shared that an Arabic nation had also just offered to build a military hospital, something he wanted badly for the LAF. "These confessional problems make everything so complicated, even among the Christians--Maronites, Greek Catholics, Orthodox, etcetera!" Still, he said, the stock exchange was up after the Doha Agreement, and the Lebanese people had hope of a better future. Need for a Strong Army -------------- ¶7. (C) Sleiman acknowledged that he would continue to take a strong interest in the LAF. He had served in the Army since his 1970 graduation for the military academy, and would make sure that the man who followed him as LAF commander would be a man who had his confidence. Sleiman added that his deputy, Maj. Gen. Chawki al-Masri (a Druze) would serve as Acting LAF Commander from Sunday evening until a new LAF commander was named. Sleiman guessed that his permanent replacement as LAF commander would not be in place until early June. Sleiman said that he would share with his successor his view that the LAF was stretched too thin, as it must defend the "blue line" with Israel, the borders, and provide security around the Palestinian refugee camps. As he had on May 11 in the heat of the violence (ref B),Sleiman also emphasized that the Army would defend Lebanon's institutions. (Comment: Lebanon has, at times in the past, had a relatively weak Minister of Defense when compared to a strong LAF commander. Our assessment that a strong LAF commander would be able to carry out the ambitious train and equip mission undertaken by current Defense Minister Elias Murr and Sleiman. End Comment.) ¶8. (C) Noting that he had seen the Charge on television as she visited Front Populaire leader Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri earlier in the day, Sleiman asked what Aoun's mood was. When she replied that she had found Aoun to be quite relaxed, Sleiman sat up straight and said, "Good! That means he is over it!" ("it" being Aoun's own long-standing Presidential aspirations). Charge then noted that large posters of Sleiman had begun to appear on Beirut's main roads. Sleiman replied that he hoped to serve Lebanon as a hard-working, honest, and transparent president who would provide a model of discipline for the people of Lebanon. Sleiman then chuckled and said, "I am setting the clock ticking for six years (the presidential term) now. I will not stay one minute more...I like Amchit!" (Note: Sleiman hails from Amchit village in primarily Christian Keserwan, where his other brother, Ghattas, serves as a local official. End Note.) BEIRUT 00000758 003.2 OF 003 ¶9. (C) Comment: Ever-careful after his public endorsement by both the opposition and March 14 as Lebanon's consensus President, Sleiman has nurtured his ties to all in the region. He enthusiastically listed where the phone calls were coming from this evening: Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and even Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Sleiman appeared eager to prepare himself for his next role; he gratefully accepted the biographies of the six-member U.S. Congressional delegation due in Beirut over the weekend and took notes as Charge spoke of the need for all parties to implement the Doha Agreement and the Agreement's mention of the need for a dialogue on ways to reinforce the state's authority throughout Lebanon's territory. However, although he agreed that Lebanon still needed to go through implementation of the Doha Agreement, he made no reply when Charge commented that media commentary in many parts of the Arab world had been critical of Hizballah's actions. End Comment. SISON